Nigeria Bonny Light crude Oil Sales for September, October to Be Delayed

Nigerian benchmark Bonny Light crude for export in September and October will be delayed by as many as 17 days, a revised loading program obtained by Bloomberg News showed, after Royal Dutch Shell Plc declared force majeure.

Three shipments will be deferred to October from September, and two to November from October, the plan showed. One extra shipment was added to the October plan, while two were dropped.

As a result, exports for September will be reduced to three cargoes from six, while October shipments will be unchanged at eight lots, according to the schedule. All consignments are 950,000 barrels each.

The changes in programs came after Shell’s Nigerian unit declared force majeure on its Bonny Light crude exports on Aug. 23 after several pipeline attacks. Force majeure is a legal clause that allows a company to miss scheduled deliveries because of circumstances beyond its control.

Exports of 18 main grades from Nigeria for October were raised to 69 cargoes totaling 2.07 million barrels a day, from 2.04 million barrels a day originally planned, according to the plan. September shipments were revised to 2.06 million barrels a day from 2.23 million barrels.

Loading programs are monthly schedules of crude shipments compiled by field operators to allow buyers and sellers to plan their supply and trading activities.

Bloomberg